Peter, Kayla and Frankie?
by DopeyPixie
Summary: 'Good relationships don't just happen. They take time, patience and two people who truly want to be together.' Story requested by ShipperOfKevney - formerly known as LegaspiWeaver. The amazing Fanficgirl18 helped me with this story so credit to her :)
1. Love and Marriage

So, I announced a while ago that I was going to write a Peter and Kayla story and here is the first chapter, finally. This first chapter is called after the song by Frank Sinatra, of course no rights are claimed by me. I would like to thank fanficgirl18 for helping with the plot and character development.  
Also, if everything goes according to plan I will be updating once a week so if you like it please give it a follow!

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Peter, Kayla and... Frankie?  
Chapter 1: Love and Marriage**

* * *

''Love is deaf... You can't just tell someone you love them. You have to show it.''

* * *

Incredible, unforgettable, wonderful nights don't happen often. Not that he was complaining. Peter Riggs was a blessed man; at 34 years old he was exactly where he wanted to be in life. He had a job with long hours and not the best pay in the world, but he loved it nonetheless. He had a beautiful doctor for a girlfriend, a nice apartment and an engagement ring waiting in his bedside table for the moment he was ready.

It had turned out he didn't need it though. Aside from being incredible and unforgettable, the night Milagro Rey was born had been emotional and in a split moment decision he had decided that the time was right: while she was wrapping the newborn baby up in a blanket he had asked Kayla to marry him.

She hadn't said yes or no, but it didn't matter: the gleam in her eyes had told him all he needed to know. He loved her and she loved him right back. They were meant for each other and nothing was going to break them apart, Peter was sure of it.

In fact, he had known it almost from the start. That first day they met there had been a spark. They didn't technically date for a while but that was beside the point, there had always been something there. He had known it when she fell for the guy who worked at the zoo she volunteered at and he had known it when they picked each other for Secret Santa.

Peter couldn't even put into words how glad he was to have found 'the one'. He knew most of the girls he went out with pictured him as a ladies' men and the majority of them thus weren't interested in a long-term relationship. And he honestly hadn't felt the need for it either. He had once found who he thought was the true love of his life and after losing her he didn't want anyone.

It had been his high school sweetheart. A smart, beautiful, strong woman who had made him fall madly in love with her in the 10th grade. And he wasn't dumb: he knew teenage relationships were bound to fall apart sooner or later but he hadn't cared – he had been in love.

Their relationship had lasted longer than expected. They had gone off to college – she to Georgetown and he to a local college, he became a nurse and she a family doctor. They had become engaged and stayed together until he decided to join the Peace Corps. Neither of them had been in denial for that long: long distance wasn't going to work for them and with Peter – not knowing when he would get back – and with Francesca – wanting to go off and have fun -, they decided to call off their wedding and break up.

Peter sighed at the memory of the half Italian, half Greek beauty he once loved. It was a distant memory and the last time he saw her seemed like a lifetime ago. As he quickly downed his slightly too hot coffee – and burned his throat in the process – he pushed the memory to the back of his mind. He had Kayla now; there was no need to think of the past.

It had taken a long time for him to get over Francesca – or Frankie, as people lovingly called her – and he wasn't about to go dwell on it. He had Kayla now. Sweet, beautiful, smart Kayla. He had taken the engagement ring out of his nightstand – it was time to ask her for real this time.

She deserved better than a spur of the moment proposal. Kayla had already gone into work and during their lunch break he was going to take her up to the garden he had made on the roof of the hospital, and he was going to ask her again.

He was going to go down on one knee, pull out the black velvet box, give her the speech he had written for her after their first date and ask her to marry him.

* * *

''Keep your eyes closed,'' Peter said as he opened the door to the roof with one hand and kept the other one over Kayla's eyes. Okay, the simple proposal had turned a bit more extravagant and he knew that as soon as Kayla saw the roof she would know that something was up. He looked down at her and couldn't help but smile, ''you're peeking through aren't you?''

Kayla grinned slightly, ''no.'' She lied, she had known something special was going to happen since the moment he had semi-proposed to her almost a week earlier. She knew he probably hadn't planned that and he wasn't the kind of person to half-ass something. Kayla had been expecting 'something' very patiently and when he told her that their lunch was going to be extra special today she had known that this was it.

She had her eyes half open and could vaguely see through his hand. She could see flowers, lots of flowers. There were always flowers everywhere on the roof – along with a small, round table accompanied by a couple of chairs. Not much else, aside from Peter not a lot of people came up here – which in her opinion was a shame, her boyfriend certainly had a green thumb.

''So, what's the surprise?'' Kayla asked innocently. She knew that he knew she knew. Despite the fact that she had been seeing it coming for a while now she was still nervous. Not for the proposal, mind you. For the part that came afterwards. So many people were looking forward to _getting_ married; in Kayla's opinion the prospect of _being_ married was a lot more daunting.

Her parents had given her a great example of how wonderful married life could be and she could only hope she and Peter would have a story half as wonderful as theirs.

Walking onto the roof she could hear the door close behind her and Peter removed his hand from over her eyes. She knew that given the time of year the flowers would be in bloom, but she hadn't expected this. There were flowers everywhere, not just in the planters. Every color of the rainbow was represented by an array of flowers, every single one more beautiful than the previous one.

''What do you think?'' Peter smiled at her and the amazed look on her face was exactly the one he had been aiming for when he set it all up. The engagement ring was burning a hole in his back pocket it seemed, he couldn't wait to finally give it to her. He had been waiting for the appropriate time to ask her since their first date.

''Peter… it's beautiful,'' Kayla told him in awe. It was hard to believe they were on a roof in her opinion. She could feel tears burning in her eyes. Like every little girl she had dreamed about this moment. Okay, after her brother accidentally got shot and died in her arms most of those dreams had been replaced by being a kickass doctor who saved lives around the clock. But the occasional dream of being proposed to and the subsequent wedding had been there as well.

Peter got the ring out of his back pocket but kept it behind his back. ''Kayla. At the time I didn't know it, but looking back now I know I loved you since the first time I laid eyes on you. Every time you smile I fall more and more in love with you. Seeing your determination to better the lives of the people around you continues to inspire me to be a better person.

''There are many things I love about you; there's no way I'll be able to tell you all of them but… you are beautiful, loving, caring, smart, opinionated,'' he chuckled. ''You know who you are and what you want and you've made me see what I want: you.'' He paused before going down on one knee and moving his hand from behind his back. ''I want to marry you.

''If you let me then every day for the rest of my days I'll show you how much I love you. Kayla Thornton, will you marry me?'' He asked her.

Kayla smiled down at him. ''Yes… yes, of course I will marry you,'' she answered the question she had waited for for so long. She was nervous to find out what their future entailed but at the same time excited to find out. Knowing that he would be with her, every day… it made it look a lot brighter.

Peter slipped the ring on the appropriate finger and stood up, ''I love you so much,'' he whispered to her before he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. Leaning his forehead against hers he smiled, ''I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you.''

''Same here,'' Kayla told him.  
Peter smiled and grabbed her hand, ''do you want to go tell everybody?'' He asked her. Personally he couldn't wait to let everyone know, especially since he knew that the people they worked with were rooting for their relationship.

She bit her lip, ''do you mind if we wait?'' She asked. ''At least until I've told Keisha and my parents, I want them to know first.''  
''Of course,'' Peter hadn't thought of that. He didn't have a close relationship with his family – which pretty much just consisted of his mother, Stella. They were different in almost every way possible and barely maintained contact. ''Just let me know when you're ready.''

* * *

Walking back into the clinic, Peter couldn't suppress the smile spreading on his face. He knew it was a dead giveaway but he couldn't care less. He had never been this happy and if Kayla had let him he would've let the whole world know.

He came to a halt at Lana's desk, ''who is next?'' He asked the receptionist.  
Lana looked up as she handed him the patient's file, seeing the widespread smile on his face she couldn't help but be curious, ''what has got you smiling?'' She asked as she sat back and started filing her nails.

''Nothing,'' Peter shrugged. It was obvious he was lying but if Kayla wanted him to keep his mouth shut then that's what he was going to do.  
''Haven't you figured out yet that Lana can see straight through you?'' Lana asked him as she stood up. When Peter didn't say anything she narrowed her eyes at him. ''Fine. I'll let it go. For now.''

''Thanks,'' Peter said as he looked through the file she had given him. ''Has the new doctor gotten here yet?'' He asked. Lu was originally going to only take two weeks – tops – off, but after the dramatic birth of her daughter the hospital chief of staff had ordered her to take off longer. This meant that they had to actually get someone to fill in for her, a task that had taken them a whole week – but today the new doctor was finally going to be here.

''Yeah, she came in a half an hour ago. Had to fly in from San Francisco,'' Lana replied. ''She's right over there,'' she nodded to Lu's office where the new doctor was conversing with Dylan West.

Peter looked up and turned around. His jaw dropped at the sight, ''Frankie?''

* * *

Please review!


	2. Jet Black and Jealous

This chapter is named after the song by the _Eli Young Band_ , of course no rights are claimed by me.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Peter, Kayla and… Frankie?**  
 **Jet Black and Jealous**

* * *

''The sweetest of all sounds is that of the voice of the woman we love.'' Jean de la Bruyere

* * *

''Frankie?'' Peter repeated as the frown on his face turned into a smile. He could not believe that after all these years he was seeing her once again – in a place where he was almost every single day. Just earlier that day he had been thinking about her, reflecting upon the relationship they had once had and now she was here.

''Peter,'' Frankie greeted, her jaw slightly dropped at the sight of him. It had been so long since the last time they saw each other that she had given hope on ever seeing him again. She wanted to but it felt like too much time had passed. ''I-'' she was at loss of words, instead she just enveloped him in a big hug, savoring the feeling as well as she could.

''What are you doing here?'' Peter asked as he pulled away.  
''I'm covering for Dr. Delgado while she is on maternity leave,'' Frankie told him. ''What are you doing here?''  
''I work here,'' Peter simply stated. ''I've been working with Lu for almost eight years.''

''Lu?'' Frankie asked confused. She put her hands in her pockets trying to act as if she wasn't incredibly thrilled to see him again. She had moved on after their relationship, but only to a certain extent. Peter had always been in the back of her mind as she moved from relationship to relationship. At moments – even after they had broken up – she had been sure that he was 'the one' and it was hard to let go of that.

''Dr. Lu Delgado,'' Peter clarified.  
''Oh,'' Frankie nodded. She simply smiled at him as a slightly uncomfortable feeling grew between them. ''So, how are you?''  
Peter chuckled at the question, it was anything but easy to summarize the twelve years in which they hadn't seen in each other in one simple statement of how he was doing, ''I'm good,'' he told her. ''You?''

A small giggle escaped Frankie, ''fine,'' she said.  
''We haven't seen each other in so long,'' Peter said, ''I mean, what have you been up to?''  
''Not much. I finished medical school and started working at a family clinic in Chicago,'' Frankie told him. ''I was laid off a little while ago, haven't done much since except from accepting this job.''

She was just about to ask him about what he had been up to when Lana appeared next to them.  
''Here is your pager,'' Lana told her as she handed her the pager, ''and they already need you down in the ER.''  
Frankie gave Peter a small smile, ''sorry. Can we catch up later?''

''Of course,'' Peter said.

* * *

''Thanks for your help... Dr.?'' Kayla asked Frankie as she snapped of her gloves – having just finished up with her patient.  
''Valence.'' Frankie told her. ''Francesca Valence, but please just call me Frankie; it's the only thing I actually respond to, could never quite get used to the whole doctor title.''

''Nice to meet you, I'm Kayla,'' she told Frankie as she shook her head. ''You're covering for Dr. Delgado right?'' She knew that the patient that had just been brought in was one of Lu's so it made sense for Frankie to be the temporary 'replacement'.  
''Yeah I am,'' Frankie confirmed.

''I'm so glad you're finally here,'' Kayla said with a smile. ''It's been a madhouse all week.''  
''Good,'' Frankie said as she rolled up the sleeves on her white, button-up blouse. ''I can't wait to get to work.''  
Kayla couldn't help but be thrilled by the enthusiasm and eagerness to get to work – it reminded her of when she first started working at Rittenhouse, before she was sleep deprived. ''Well, it's pretty calm now,'' she said as she glanced around the ER, ''enjoy it while it lasts.''

* * *

''…so they put the knife in and blood squirts everywhere,'' Kayla only caught the ending of Nick's story as she absentmindedly poked around her food with her fork. Nick Biancavilla – the doctor who had ran the ER until a month before she started working there – was in town and they had decided to all meet up at a restaurant and catch up. Peter had been due to arrive almost a half an hour earlier but there was still no sign of him.

Just as she glanced up at the entrance she saw his motorcycle pull up. As she watched Peter get off of the motorcycle she could see someone else was with him. She sat up a little straighter so she could see better as a frown appeared on her face. They had decided upfront not to invite too many people, aside from them only Lana, Dylan and Matt Lin were there since they had wanted to keep the get-together small.

Peter opened the door for Frankie, guiding her into the restaurant with a hand on the small of her back. His face lit up at the sight of Kayla. He could in all honesty say that he had never been happier: she had agreed to marry him, the woman of his dreams wanted to be with _him_. ''Just over here,'' he said to Frankie as he led her to the table and pulled out a chair for her. ''Everybody this is Frankie Valence, Frankie this is… everybody,'' he said with a grin.

He leaned down to greet Kayla with a kiss before sitting down next to her. As they both settled down Kayla glanced over at Frankie, wondering why she was there, and she could swear she saw a jealous look cross the doctor's face.  
Peter could see the confused look on Kayla's face and leaned in, ''she's new in town. I thought it would be nice to bring her here, it's her first night here,'' he clarified. As he pulled away from his fiancée a bit he looked around the group, ''Frankie is replacing Lu while she's on maternity leave.''

Everybody greeted Frankie, welcoming her to the team. They all knew what Lu was like and knew that as soon as she could she would come back to work – they wouldn't have to work with Frankie for long. It was yet to be decided if that was a good or a sad thing.

''Speaking of Lu,'' Nick began before taking a sip from his wine, ''how is she?''  
''Fine, last I heard,'' Peter said, ''it's going to take a while to recover from the c-section but she's doing better than expected.'' He was referring to the explosion that had happened while Lu and her husband Jonas were checking out Jonas' childhood home with the intention of moving in there. In order to save their - at the time - unborn daughter he had had to perform an improvised c-section using a Stanley knife. After they were all saved from the basement their daughter had been named appropriately: Milagro, miracle.

''So, Frankie, are you new in town?'' Nick asked as he eyed the beautiful doctor.  
She nodded, ''I just moved down here. I worked at a hospital in Chicago for a couple of years and relocated here about a month ago.''  
''How do you like it?'' Kayla asked as she sipped her water. She sensed a weird vibe coming from Frankie but had decided to ignore it – after all, she had been friendly when they met earlier that day.

''Nice. Familiar,'' Frankie told her. ''I used to live here but moved away after finishing medical school.''  
Nick smiled, ''hard to stay away, right? I moved to Manhattan a few years ago but like to come back every once in a while. Maybe you can move there too when your gig here is finished?''

''Actually,'' Frankie started before she eyed Peter, ''I think I might want to stay here a little while longer – maybe get a job at the hospital instead of the clinic and…'' she shrugged, ''catch up with old friends.''  
Lana looked back and forth between the two of them, sensing something. ''Do you two know each other?'' She asked.

Frankie smiled dreamily at Peter, ''you can say that.''  
''We used to go out,'' Peter clarified to the rest of the group – not daring to look at Kayla, knowing she wouldn't be pleased with this new information.  
Frankie shoved him playfully, ''come on silly, I think we were a bit more serious than 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend','' she looked back at Lana. ''We were engaged until he decided to join the Peace Corps.''

Kayla took a sharp breath, ''you were engaged?'' She asked – her voice high in disbelief that Peter wouldn't share something like that with here.  
Peter looked down at the empty plate in front of him, ''I was going to tell you,'' he told Kayla in a low voice – wanting to keep this private between the two of them.

Lana watched on as the two quietly bickered, only getting distracted when she noticed the diamond ring on Kayla's left hand ring finger. She cleared her throat to get the lovebirds' attention, nodding at Kayla's hand she smiled, ''it looks like you have moved on,'' she said, referring to Peter.  
Her comment took both Peter and Kayla back to just a few hours earlier when they were more in love than they had ever been before.

''Peter asked me to marry him earlier today,'' Kayla said softly as she looked down at the ring. Her entire physique softened as she was reminded that Peter loved _her_ , not Frankie or any other woman.  
''And she said yes,'' Peter added.

Kayla looked lovingly at Peter as everyone around them congratulated them. After he had proposed she had immediately called her parents and then her sister, Keisha, to share the happy news and she was glad to share it with her friends now as well. The only thing that stood out to her was how coolly Frankie had congratulated them. It gave her a chill and on the inside she could hear alarm bells ringing. She was a pretty good judge of character if she said so herself and something was just… off about the newest member of their team. She hadn't noticed it when they had met earlier but it was abundantly clear now.

She knew she was probably just being crazy and that the only reason she was feeling this way was because of the new information she had just received, but deep down it felt like it was more than that. It was the jealous look that crossed the doctor's features every time Peter touched Kayla or even just looked at her. It was the look she gave her, almost silently threatening her. It was how she kept shamelessly flirting with Peter.

The worst part? While everyone around them was slowly growing more uncomfortable by the display she was putting on, Peter didn't seem to be catching any of it.  
Kayla simply didn't get it. Peter was the kind of man who noticed stuff like this – he was no stranger to the dating world and he was great at flirting, he always noticed when women were interested in him and he had no trouble in showing it when he was interested in a woman.

But now…? Sure, it was great that he only had eyes for Kayla, but he had to have noticed something, right? Anything.

As the evening was coming to an end Kayla was relieved. It was sad that Nick would be leaving once again – even though he was always just a phone call away – but she was glad that she didn't have to be around Frankie again for a little while. At least not until one of Lu's patients was brought into the ER.

Although that did remind her: while she may not have to be around her all that much, Frankie and Peter would be spending most of their days together…

* * *

Please review!


	3. Ain't No Rest For The Wicked

So, this chapter was co-written with the amazing and lovely Fanficgirl18 and was named after the song by the band Cage The Elephant, bla bla no rights claimed by me.  
Enjoy!

* * *

 **Peter Kayla and Frankie?**  
 **Ain't No Rest For The Wicked**

* * *

''Follow your heart, but take your brain with you.''

* * *

Peter nervously glanced over at Kayla as he was driving her back to Lana's place. He knew that she was mad at him and was just waiting for the moment she would explode; truthfully he just wanted it to be over as soon as possible. Because there truly was nothing going on between him and Frankie, he had no feelings for her whatsoever, truly.

"Peter, for the millionth time I'm not mad. I just wish you would have told me. If I'm going to be your wife I deserve to know everything." Kayla finally couldn't take it any longer. She had been silently stewing ever since they left the restaurant, in disbelieve that this was how she would find out about something this important.

Peter almost regretted not taking Lana with them in his car; he knew Kayla wouldn't want to fight in front of her. ''I just didn't think it was important, we broke up what? 12 Years ago? I'd practically forgotten about her,'' he lied through his teeth and hoped she wouldn't notice. Honestly, it had been hard to get over Frankie; she had been such a big part of his life.

"Was she your first?" Kayla knew she was out of line but she was his fiancée so it didn't matter, they should be able to talk openly about this.  
''Does it matter?'' Peter asked her. When he noticed the look on her face he knew he better be as honest as he could possibly be, it would help them move on from this. ''She was,'' he told Kayla. ''We were both sixteen, it was after our junior prom… Anything else you want to know?''

"Who's better?" She continued seriously.  
He looked over at her in disbelief, ''you can't be serious,'' he said. When she didn't budge he sighed, ''it's not that one of you was necessarily better than the other, you're both very different,'' he told her.

"In what way?" She asked inching closer to him.  
Peter was having a hard time keeping his attention on the road, he hesitated with answering her, ''it's just… she and I were each other's firsts, we had to learn everything together and in the end it was pretty… great, I guess. With you and me, we both already had experience which helped a lot,'' he said. He noticed the expression on her face, ''and now it's pretty damn great too,'' he stammered, slightly intimidated by her.

"Pull over!" Kayla demanded.  
''Kayla, come on,'' he said. ''This was all twelve years ago, why can't we just move on? She'll work at the clinic for a few weeks and then she's gone, we'll probably never see her again let alone have to deal with her. You know I love you and I want to marry you. _You_. No one else.'' Knowing his words wouldn't be enough – at least not for tonight – he pulled over.

As she felt Peter put the car in park, she kissed him passionately. "Do you like it when we do this?" She asked afterwards.  
Peter looked at her lips hungrily, ''of course I do,'' he said. He tried to lean in to kiss her again but Kayla put a hand on his chest and stopped him. He looked at her confused, ''what?''

"Don't ever keep anything like that from me again, or this," she said unbuttoning her shirt and then his. "Won't happen anymore. Are we clear?"  
''Yes, absolutely,'' he said, his eyes glued to her chest. Feeling her hands on his chest he kissed her passionately.

* * *

''So nice of you that you let me join you for lunch,'' Frankie told Peter as they were heading down to the cafeteria. ''I had a really great time last night and I can't wait to get to know Kayla better,'' she lied. She didn't even care a little bit about Kayla, the sooner she was out of the picture the better. All she had to do was be nice for a little while to get closer to Peter.  
Peter forced a smile, ''just glad you're enjoying Philly so far,'' he told her. He knew he was in big trouble, he and Kayla were supposed to have lunch together, the two of them. Frankie had invited herself and what was he going to do? He couldn't just tell her no, he was raised better than that.

"Hey you! Sorry I'm late. We ready to- Oh hey there Frankie." Kayla forced a smile. "I wasn't expecting you."  
Peter spun around to look at Kayla, ''hey sweetie,'' he greeted her, kissing her cheek. ''Frankie heard about our plans and wanted to join.'' He explained shortly, hoping Kayla would figure out that this wasn't his idea.

''Hi,'' Frankie said, ''I'm sorry, I didn't mean to mess up your plans or anything, it's just that I'm only in town for a short while – probably – and I would just love to get to know you better,'' she said to Kayla. ''Plus, I'll never pass up an opportunity to spend time with you,'' she flashed a big smile at Peter.  
"That's nice. Baby, maybe we should set Frankie and Nick up on a date!" Kayla offered as they sat down at one of the tables. Anything to get her seductive ass away from Peter.

''Oh, I don't know,'' Frankie said, ''he's not really my type, I'm more into brunettes… with tattoos, it just makes them look so rugged,'' she gave Peter a seductive look. She knew he was still interested in her and she regretted breaking up with him all those years ago. Sure, he hadn't been husband material back then but he had lived up to his full potential.  
Peter smiled at her, ''maybe there's somebody else here at the hospital who you'll like,'' he told her. He wasn't a complete idiot – he knew she had described him, but he refused to believe that she would try to steal him away from Kayla, she was better than that.

"No no. I like Nick, I just think you two need to get to know each other better." Kayla persisted. Just then she heard her pager go off. "Damn it! Ped's cardiac arrest! I have to go sweetie! I'll see you tonight?" Kayla asked before practically making out with Peter in front of Frankie. She had to mark her territory.  
''See you tonight,'' Peter told her as she rushed off. He turned back to Frankie, ''so I guess it's just you and me now. How do you like Rittenhouse so far?'' He figured he's just make small talk until he finished lunch and then get back to work – he knew Kayla wouldn't exactly be thrilled if he and Frankie did anything more than make small talk.

"So we are! So Peter, I have a complicated induction tomorrow. Would you maybe want to come over and go over the birth plan? You will be helping me out after all.'' Frankie gave him the sweetest smile she could muster.  
''Actually, Kayla and I have plans tonight, I'm sorry,'' Peter said. He hated this, it was yet another lie – it seemed like all he was doing was lying ever since Frankie had came into town. ''Maybe you can get someone from Labor and Delivery to help you? I'm sure Dr. Michelson will be happy to help you, and as far as I know he is single.'' He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"No, that's okay it was just a suggestion." Frankie concluded.  
Peter could see the displeased look on her face. He could cut her some slack, right? Kayla might be worried that she was coming on to him but Frankie must've seen how happy they were together. He took a deep breath, ''maybe I can ask Kayla and she can help us? She has some experience with delivering babies,'' he said. It seemed to be the best solution: he'd be helping Frankie out and it also gave him a chance to show Kayla that there was nothing going on between them.

"I don't think so; I'll let you know though, okay? Excuse me, Peter. I have an appointment!'' She gave a quick hug before rushing off. Her sandals clicked as she walked and Peter noticed the Namaste tattoo on the back of her foot.  
Peter sighed as he sat back in his chair. Everything had been perfect until Frankie had come into town, he and Kayla were happier than ever before, that was for sure. She was messing with his mind; Kayla was perfect for him, right? He wasn't so sure anymore, he had a lot more in common with Frankie: she's a Buddhist, like him. They were raised the same way, same morals and values… they had survived high school together which was an accomplishment on its own.

Having Frankie in town definitely gave him a lot to think about…

* * *

''Hey, how did it go in the emergency room?'' Peter asked Kayla as he caught up to her in the hallway. He had been avoiding Frankie all afternoon – which wasn't easy considering their work proximity – and couldn't wait to get his mind off of her.  
"The little kid is on a breathing tube but stable. How was lunch?" Kayla asked, dreading the answer a bit.

''It was okay,'' Peter told her. ''Frankie left soon after you did... she wanted to get together tonight to go over some plans for a delivery she's doing tomorrow.'' Full disclosure seemed to be the best option at the moment.  
"You didn't want to help?" Kayla asked, genuinely knowing that medicine was more important than innocent jealously.

''I told her to ask Dr. Michelson,'' Peter told her. ''She said it was a complex delivery and he's more knowledgeable than me, will be able to help her out more. Plus, from what I heard today he's definitely her type and-'' Kayla interrupted him.  
"Peter, you don't have to lie. I know she's not interested in Dr. Michelson, she's interested in you and I'm okay with that. As long as it doesn't change our feelings for each other what's the harm?"

Peter frowned. ''If you're not worried about that then why have you been acting so different with her around?'' He asked. ''You know you have nothing to worry about, I love you and I always will.''  
"She's willing to do anything to get what she wants. Can't you see that?"

''I can see that,'' Peter said, ''but I'm not interested in her, whatever she does isn't going to change a thing between us.'' It had been easier to ignore Frankie's advances before Kayla had made such a big deal out of them, but there was no going back now. ''You have nothing to worry about, she and I are over and after she leaves here I plan on never seeing her again.''

"She might plan on seeing you." Kayla mumbled.  
''That doesn't mean I plan on seeing her,'' Peter reminded her. ''Plus, after we get married she'll probably lose interest. We just have to stick it out for now and once she's gone it'll be like she was never here.''

"I really don't want to talk about this. I need air." She grabbed her sweater and was out the door within seconds.

* * *

Please review!


	4. Only Girl In The World

Sorry for not updating last weekend, but I'm back now with a new chapter. This was co-written with the always amazing fanficgirl18!  
Enjoy!

* * *

 **Peter, Kayla and Frankie?**  
 **Only Girl In The World**

* * *

''Never underestimate the power of jealousy and the power of envy to destroy. Never underestimate that.'' Oliver Stone

* * *

Peter felt nervous as he walked into the hospital cafeteria. He was having a late lunch but he still might bump into Kayla, not something he was looking forward to. They hadn't talked much since he told her he didn't have any feelings for Frankie whatsoever, he could understand that she was upset but this was not how he had pictured their engagement.

Even despite that he wanted to give her all the room she needed so she could be okay with having Frankie around. He swallowed hard as he saw her sitting at one of the tables; he quickly grabbed a coffee and a nutrient bar and walked over to her. ''Hi,'' he said as he sat down across from her, effectively snapping her out of her daze.

Kayla sat up a little bit, ''hey you,'' she smiled. Even though she had been avoiding him for the past two days she still missed him. She had grown accustomed to having him around, working in the same building meant that whether they wanted to or not, they would see each other all the time. ''Having a late lunch?'' She eyed his coffee.

''No later than you apparently,'' he said. He couldn't believe how awkward this felt, they were always so comfortable with each other but they both had Frankie in the back of their minds. ''So how has work been?'' He asked, trying to make small talk. It wasn't much but it was a start.

Kayla cocked her head to the side, ''let's not do this,'' she said. She hated that this was the way it was now and she wanted to move on from their whole argument, truly, but she could see the way he looked at Frankie. There wasn't anything platonic about the sparkle in his eyes. ''Can we just agree to never mention Frankie again? And move on?''

Peter gave her a small smile, ''that works for me,'' he said. ''Lana's been asking me if she can throw us an engagement party, what do you think?''  
''That sounds nice,'' Kayla smiled brightly, ''as long as… 'you know who' won't be there.''  
''I'll make sure she won't be there,'' Peter told her, ''all we need to do is pick a date and a guest list, Lana insists on taking care of everything else.''

''How about next weekend?'' Kayla asked. ''Just a low key party-''  
Peter interrupted her, ''I'm not sure Lana does 'low key','' he told her with a grin.  
Kayla chuckled, ''okay… next weekend, I'll give her a guest list tomorrow and she can decide on everything else.''

* * *

As Peter walked back into the RWHC he almost bumped into Frankie, literally. He put on a forced smile and just kept walking. The truth was that the only reason he was avoiding her was because of Kayla, he didn't have a problem with her, but knowing she would leave soon anyway made him decide that it was easier to avoid her.

Frankie followed him, ''had lunch with the old ball-and-chain huh?'' She asked, ''been there.''  
''Kayla is not my… ball-and-chain,'' Peter told her as he came to a halt, ''and even if she was it's not any of your business.''  
Frankie frowned, ''why so hostile all of the sudden?'' She sounded a bit offended almost.

Peter didn't bother to respond, deciding she wasn't worth it, and picked up a chart.  
Frankie wasn't going to give up that easy, ''don't you ever wish that we would have stayed together? It would be so much easier if we had gotten married; the dating world isn't an easy one… Plus, you've turned into a really great guy.'' She batted her eyelashes at him.

''Frankie… I love Kayla and whether you're here or not I will always want to be with her,'' he said. ''She's uncomfortable with your flirty behavior and so I think it will be better if we keep our distance from each other.''  
''Seriously? She decides who you get to hang out with?'' Frankie challenged. ''Didn't you just say she _isn't_ a ball-and-chain?''

''Peter?'' Kayla asked as she walked up to the two of them, surprised to see them talking to each other after the talk she just had with Peter, ''what's going on here?'' She asked as she wrapped her arm around Peter's waist and eyed Frankie suspiciously.  
''We were just catching up,'' Frankie answered as she put on the sweetest smile she could muster.

''And I was just about to head to exam room 4,'' Peter told Kayla as he pulled away from her. He quickly grabbed the chart off Lana's desk and left.

Frankie smiled at Kayla, ''so, I hear you're _uncomfortable_ with having me around?'' She said. She had always been good at reading people, a talent that always ensured that she would get whatever she wanted, and right now it was helping her push all of Kayla's buttons. ''Why is that?'' She asked innocently.

Kayla didn't bother to give her a second glance as she stormed off, back to the ER.

* * *

''Next Saturday, eight o'clock at La Cubanita, can you be there?'' Peter asked Dylan as they stood at the front desk. Lana had been able to find a location for his and Kayla's engagement party.  
''Sure, is it okay if I bring Araya?'' Dylan asked.

''Of course,'' Peter assured him. He smiled at the other man but froze when he could feel a hand on his back. Kayla was still down in the ER so it could only be one other person.  
''What are you two talking about?'' Frankie asked as she looked back and forth between the two men. She had been hearing people talk about the party next weekend but everybody had seemingly been trying to avoid her as much as possible.

Dylan glanced over at Peter; he had heard him and Kayla argue about Frankie and decided it was not his place to answer the question, ''I have a patient I ought to get to.''

''Frankie, it's just a small get-together to celebrate mine and Kayla's engagement,'' Peter told her, ''please don't show up.'' He didn't know how much she had overheard but there was no point in lying to her, the walls in the hospital had ears and the news of their engagement had spread like wildfire. The news of their engagement party had been pretty much the same, Lana had made sure of that.

''You know, I really don't get why you're being so mean to me,'' Frankie said, tears welling up in her eyes, ''from the moment I got here I've been nice to you and now you're acting like I'm… an enemy, or something. It's not fair.''

Peter sighed, he knew the tears were fake but it still hurt him to see Frankie like this. ''Look, you're only going to be around here for a little while-''  
''Not necessarily,'' Frankie interrupted him, a pout appearing on her face.  
Peter ignored her, ''so I just want Kayla to be happy and when you leave, forget about you.''

''Peter, come on… You're never going to forget about _me_. We'll always share those good times we had, all the times we made love… Remember our first time? In my dad's pickup truck after prom?'' Frankie asked, putting her hand on his chest as she smiled at him sweetly. ''Don't you remember the words you said when you asked me to marry you?''

''Frankie, I-''  
''You said you'd never leave me,'' Frankie told him, sounding accusingly. ''That you'd love me forever. That I was your girl and we were going to grow old together, you can't just pretend that never happened. Our relationship was too special for that. I know you… 'love' Kayla, but I was your first love and I should be the only girl you have eyes for…'' She could see Kayla approaching them from behind Peter. ''I'll see you tonight at La Cubanita alright?" Frankie kissed him on the cheek before clicking her heels to her next appointment.

Peter didn't realize that Kayla saw everything as she made her way over to him.  
"Maybe we shouldn't have an engagement party at all." Kayla whispered angrily before he turned around.

"Kayla!" Peter spun around, surprised. "What are you doing down here sweetheart?" He asked. He didn't know if she'd seen what just happened between him and Frankie and hadn't heard her whisper.  
"Well, I was going to ask if we could get the ring sized this afternoon. On second thought, I'll just give it back to you." Kayla tossed the ring at him and began to storm off before he stopped her.

Peter hastily picked up the ring, "Kayla, I'm sorry you had to see that. She's so persistent I can't get rid of her," he said, grabbing her by the arm. He wanted to fix this as soon as possible and he couldn't do that if she kept running away.  
"Peter what I saw, was her talking inappropriately to you in the work place and you not giving a damn about it."

''I care. But I still have to work with her, I can't just tell her to go away,'' Peter reasoned. ''I've repeatedly told her to leave me alone and she won't, what else do you want me to do?''  
''Set boundaries, figure out what you want. Something. But until then leave me alone!"

Peter watched Kayla storm off and this time decided not to stop her, it was no use. He could see Frankie lead a patient out of her office and knew she didn't have another appointment for another 15 minutes – pretty much everyone knew that Lu was on maternity leave so there weren't a lot of people coming in for Frankie. He had to go talk to her… he just hoped she would listen this time.

* * *

Peter walked into La Cubanita that night; he knew Frankie would probably be confused since she thought the party was tonight. He hadn't been able to talk to her during work so he figured he might as well come here, not much else to lose. Seeing her sit at the bar he walked at the bar he walked over.  
"Hi. I was wondering where you were." Frankie said as she attempted to hug him.

Peter stepped back, he knew that Kayla wasn't around but he wanted to keep as much of a distance from Frankie. ''Hey,'' he said. He wasn't sure why he had come here, it didn't fall into the category 'keeping a distance' but then again, calling her wasn't either. ''Frankie, I need to talk to you.''

"Okay" she said sipping her cosmopolitan, ''I'm all ears.''  
Peter bit his lip, ''you want me to be happy, don't you?'' He asked.  
"Of course I do. What's this about Peter?"

''Frankie, Kayla makes me happy.'' He said. ''Really happy. I want to be with her for the rest of my life, not with you. We can talk at work, about work-related things, but nothing else. Is that clear?''  
"So are you saying you feel absolutely nothing for me?'' She moved closer to him. She knew her favorite perfume would drive him wild.

Peter swallowed hard. Between being with Frankie and being with Kayla he had been with many women and chasing girls was a hard habit to break. "You're very beautiful and if I wasn't with Kayla then everything would be different, but I am committed to her."

"I didn't see Kayla wearing her ring today. Look Peter why don't we try to go on one date? Just to see."

He could feel the ring burn in his pocket, Kayla hadn't accepted it back and he wasn't sure if their engagement was still on. All he knew was that anything Frankie-related wasn't going to help. ''All _I_ want to see is Kayla walking down the aisle, to me.'' Peter said. ''Please just leave her and me alone,'' he turned on his heel and walked out of the bar.

He had said all he needed to say; all he could do now was hope that Frankie had listened.

* * *

Please review!


	5. How To Be A Heartbreaker

So, I hope y'all don't mind if I skip a week when it comes to uploading. Have been very busy with a lot of things - too much to explain. But either way, here is a new chapter and I hope you all enjoy it! It was partially written with Fanficgirl18 so thank her!

Also, this chapter was named after the song by Marina and The Diamonds... No rights claimed by me yada yada yada...

* * *

 **Chapter 5:**  
 **How To Be A Heartbreaker**

* * *

''Don't worry when I fight with you; worry when I stop because it means there's nothing left for us to fight for.'' Unknown author

* * *

Peter knocked on the door of Lana and Kayla's apartment. He knew Lana had already left to make sure La Cubanita was ready for the party. The tension between him and Kayla had barely gone down in the last couple of days and he was nervous about how it was going to go.

The door swung open and Kayla was on the other side, dressed up in one of her favorite dresses; kind of party like but still casual. She looked away when Peter smiled at her. She had been dreading going to the party all week despite not having seen Frankie.

''Are you ready to go?'' Peter asked her as he walked into the small apartment. He watched Kayla walk over to one of the mirrors to finish her makeup as he waited by the door. ''I'm looking forward to tonight,'' he told her. When she didn't respond he sighed, ''it'll be nice to see everyone again.'' He commented.  
Nick had left town again but was coming back for tonight. Peter had decided to invite Dana, they didn't talk much but he was still the godfather of her daughter so he wanted to share tonight and the wedding with her. Kayla had also invited Andy who, along with Kayla's twin sister Keisha, was going to be maid-of-honor.

''Can we just get this over with?'' Kayla asked as she put in her earrings. ''I'm still mad at you-''  
''Why?'' Peter asked, astonished. ''Nothing happened between me and her. I told her to back off, she did… Why is this still a problem? Has she bothered you since I talked to her last week?''

Kayla sighed, ''it doesn't matter if she's bothering me, I just don't want her to be around you… and I don't care if you don't like her anymore, the point is that _she_ still likes _you_.''  
''Honey, the only way anything will happen between me and her, is if I consent to it. I love you, and I don't want her.'' Peter put a hand over his heart, ''please believe me when I tell you nothing is going to happen between me and her.''

* * *

Peter looked around at all the guests. Kayla was standing next to him – he knew she still wasn't happy with how things were going but Frankie but she hadn't bothered them since he last spoke to her and being surrounded by all her friends helped. ''Are you enjoying yourself?'' He asked by a whisper in her ear. Most of Rittenhouse had invited themselves to the 'small' get-together Kayla had wanted, but she didn't seem to mind that much.

"Sure you know this doesn't mean anything? The only reason I agreed to this is because Lana had already planned it." Kayla told him. Their drive to the party had been a silent one and it had caused her to over think everything that had been going on, only making herself more upset in the process.  
"Look, I've barely even seen Frankie since I last talked to her a week and a half ago, maybe she finally got the message," Peter said hopeful. "Let's just focus on us, okay?"

Kayla hesitated for a moment before answering. He had a point, she hadn't as much as caught a glimpse of Frankie and maybe they should move on… "maybe I can stay the night tonight? We can talk about it over some wine…'' she suggested flirtatiously.  
"I would love that," Peter told her. He leaned in to kiss her but froze when he saw Frankie walking into the bar - in a dress that left little to the imagination - over Kayla's shoulder, "uh oh," he groaned as he pulled away.

"Hope I'm not too late. I got you guys a gift." Frankie approached them with a big, but less than sincere, smile.  
Kayla took the gift from her, stunned that she would dare showing up.  
The last thing Peter had expected was for Frankie to show up, unannounced, uninvited and completely unexpected, but in retrospect he should've known. She was sneaky like this. "Thank you," he muttered when Kayla didn't respond.

"I'm going to go see if someone will buy me a drink.'' Frankie gave Peter one last flirty look before trotting over to the bar, brushing his arm softly with her hand as she walked past him – making the hairs on his arm stand up.  
Peter watched her walk over to the bar before turning back to Kayla, "I swear I didn't know she was coming." Even though it technically wasn't his fault, he knew Kayla would be pissed at _him_.

"I'm going home and you can keep this permanently,'' Kayla shoved the gift in his hands, ''I think we need a break. I'm sorry Peter.'' She paused before taking off her engagement ring; she gently placed it in his palm before running out of the restaurant.

Peter buried his face in his hands. It had taken a lot of convincing to get Kayla to take the ring back and now Frankie had ruined it again. He was so sick of what was happening, his whole life seemed to be falling apart at the seams and he couldn't do anything to stop it. He silently debated if he should talk to Frankie to try to sort this out once again. He looked over at her; she was over at the bar, guys swarming around her.

* * *

Kayla could feel tears burn in her eyes as she made her way out the door, over to her car. ''Kayla?'' She turned around when she heard Lu's voice behind her. Lu – who was clearly still recovering from her C-section judging by the pained look on her face; Lana – who she really needed to apologize to: she had thrown them this great engagement party and now she was leaving early; and Andy – who had come down to Philadelphia for the weekend for the engagement party, all came into focus.

''What's wrong kid?'' Lana asked confused, just minutes ago the young doctor had seemed just fine – happy even – and now she was leaving in tears?  
''Nothing, Peter and I are just going through some things,'' Kayla told them. She gave Lana an apologetic look, ''really, thanks for the party but I just want to go home.''

Lu gave her a small smile, ''why don't we all go back to my house? I'm sure Jonas could use an extra hand with Mila and we can all talk there?''  
Kayla hesitated before nodding, ''sure.''

* * *

Frankie forced a smile as she accepted some guy – who she had passed in the hospital hallways on more than one occasion – 's number. As soon as the guy turned around a disgusted look crossed her face. It was written on a napkin that had – what she hoped was water – stains on it. Quickly throwing it in the trash can, she smiled when Peter walked up to the bar as well.

She waited until he had ordered his beverage before putting a hand on his arm, ''I saw that Kayla just left,'' she noted.  
Peter threw her a look, ''why are you here?'' He asked. ''I thought I made it clear that you weren't invited.''  
''This place is a dump. I thought I'd invite myself and maybe make it a bit more fun,'' Frankie said, leaning back against the bar. ''Plus, with the way your relationship with Kayla seems to be going, I thought you could use the company.''

''You caused it-''  
Frankie interrupted him, ''if she is this upset about me merely showing up, something is very wrong with your relationship. Maybe I made whatever it is worse, but I didn't cause it.''

Peter thought about this for a moment, ''I thought we were doing fine. But nothing has even happened between you and me and she is being all jealous,'' he mumbled. He downed his drink in one quick gulp and looked at Frankie, ''you want anything?''

''No thanks, I stopped drinking a couple of years ago,'' she held up her glass of water, ''this is enough for me.''  
Peter ordered himself another drink before looking at her quizzically, ''why did you stop drinking?'' He asked, it seemed very unlike her – or actually, the 'her' he knew from 12 years ago.  
Frankie shrugged, ''after you left I was in a bad place for a long time and it… it was turning into a bit of a… habit? I guess,'' she admitted, a bit embarrassed by it. She cleared her throat, ''I stopped cold turkey and never looked back.''

He looked at her amazed, ''I can't believe you never told me that, I wish you would've called or something…'' he had never realized the break up had been that hard on her. The aftermath of their relationship hadn't been easy and he had tried to block her from his mind from the start, but he would've helped her if he had known.

''Peter… come on, that would've only made it worse,'' Frankie told him. ''I… I didn't want to ever see you again but when I walked into the clinic last week… You haven't changed a bit. And neither have my feelings for you,'' she admitted. ''The only reason Kayla is threatened by me is because she, too, can see that we're perfect for each other.''

Peter gave her a disappointed look, ''I don't think that is-''  
''True?'' Frankie interrupted him. ''Come on Peter, you can ignore it all you want but that isn't going to change a thing… We needed a break for a couple of years but-'' she hesitated, but only slightly, ''I want to get back together.''

Peter stared at her in shock, ''you know I'm with Kayla.'' He couldn't believe this was happening; not only had Kayla pretty much broken up with him during their engagement party, he was already getting hit on by another woman. And the worst thing was that he couldn't deny it to himself any longer: he and Frankie had always had chemistry, up until when they had broken up their relationship had been… perfect, by lack of another word. They barely fought, even while living together.

''I know you're with her,'' Frankie told him with a shrug. ''And I respect the fact that you have moved on, after twelve years it was about time. But nothing beats your first love… the first girl you ever kissed, the first girl you ever told that you love her, the first girl that you ever made love to… Kayla is amazing, truly, but even a blind person can see that we're perfect for each other,'' she bit her lip innocently. When Peter didn't respond she sighed. ''Just kiss me.''

Peter's eyebrows shot up, ''Frankie, I…'' he looked around him – he wasn't sure what he was looking for but everyone else seemed engrossed in other things.  
Frankie took a step closer to him, ''Peter,'' she whispered as she put a hand on his chest, connecting her lips to his'.

* * *

Please review!


	6. Walk On The Wild Side

So, I'm back with a new chapter. I know it took forever, I've been dealing with a lot of personal problems these past couple of weeks and sadly it's keeping me from writing. I would like you all to know that I'm not just going to leave this story and I do very much intend to finish it, it just might take a while.  
Anyways, enjoy!

* * *

 **Peter, Kayla and Frankie?**  
 **Walk On The Wild Side**

* * *

''I wish my book of life was written in pencil, there are a few pages I would like to erase.''

* * *

Feeling her soft lips connect to his own, Peter got lost in the moment. All the drama between him and Kayla faded away and all he could think about was the fact that the woman, whom he had once loved more than anything else in this world, was kissing him. Again. After all these years.

He had hurt her by leaving her when she needed him most – as he now knew – and yet, she still kissed him. She still wanted him. She still loved him. Or so she said, she had always been the kind of woman who was a bit… loose. Always flirting with other men right in front of him, commenting on other men in the room just to remind him how lucky he was that she had chosen him to marry.

Both the fact that the love of his life, Kayla, and the fact that the woman kissing him had made him the happiest and most miserable he had been in his life, faded away when her warm hand landed on his chest. Her other hand stroked his cheek as she attempted to deepen the kiss.

When he heard a loud crash behind him – glasses breaking, a surprised shriek from someone he didn't know – Peter broke away from the kiss. Thankful for the distraction which had made sure that no one was paying attention to him and Frankie, he looked at her in shock. He had given in to the temptation; he had officially cheated on Kayla.

It was what she had been warning him for ever since Frankie had re-entered his life, it was exactly what he had promised her wouldn't happen. And now, during their engagement party, he was kissing her. He couldn't believe himself. He had not only broken his promise to Kayla, he felt like he had broken a promise to himself.

Peter knew that this wasn't what he wanted; he didn't want to get sucked into the crazy mess that was Frankie's life yet again. He wanted Kayla, forever. When he came home at the end of a long day at work, he wanted to come home to Kayla, not Frankie. When he woke up in the morning, he wanted to wake up next to Kayla, not Frankie…

Frankie eyed the mess on the floor, the drunken people around them, and made a decision, ''we should get out of here,'' she told Peter, gently pushing him to the entrance. She saw the hesitance in his eyes, ''these people are wasted. Also, we need to talk and I'd rather not let any of our colleagues overhear us.''

Peter gently gave into her suggestion, not sure what else he could do. It wasn't as if Kayla was talking to him anyway. ''Where do you want to go?'' He asked Frankie as he walked out of the bar, the cold breeze sobering him up a bit even though he was sure he was still too drunk to make any decisions, ones that he wasn't going to regret in the morning.

Frankie shrugged, ''my place? I have more booze in case you're still thirsty, and I promise I won't make any moves.'' She told him as she unlocked her car.

* * *

''She is just always around,'' Kayla told the other three women in the room with her. ''And I can see in Peter's eyes that he still has feelings for her, despite him swearing high and low that he doesn't.''  
Lu looked up from baby Milagro in her arms, ''maybe you should just trust him? You said that she's going to leave town soon, you two probably just have to hang in tight and wait.''

''That's what I've been thinking too,'' Kayla said, feeling defeated. ''It's just hard to trust him when every time I turn away she's all over him, and he doesn't even seem to mind. She showed up tonight and the only reason he was mad was because he knew I didn't want her there -he didn't mind having her there.''

''But you still want to be with him though, don't you?'' Andy asked. Just like Lu she hadn't known about any of this until tonight.  
''Of course I do,'' Kayla told her.  
''Then is it worth throwing away everything you two have over this? I mean, if she is leaving soon…''

Lana cleared her throat, ''actually, rumor has it she's looking for a permanent position at the hospital,'' she told Kayla, whose face immediately turned into despair. ''Nothing has been confirmed but Lana thinks she ain't going anywhere.'' She felt bad having to break the news, but she figured it was better having Kayla find out sooner rather than later.

Kayla groaned as she buried her face in her hands, ''now what? How am I supposed to be with Peter with her fawning over him 24/7? I love him, I do, but I don't think I can live with that.'' She thought their situation had been bad before, but it just seemed to get worse.

''Just because she wants to work at Rittenhouse doesn't mean she will,'' Andy reminded her, ''considering her background it's doubtful there are many positions for her.''  
''With her luck the perfect position for her will open up at the exact right time,'' Kayla commented gloomily.

* * *

Peter groaned as the light pouring in through the curtains woke him up. There was a buzzing sound in his ears and when he sat up, the whole room spun. He hadn't drank as much as he had the night before, in… ever. Alcohol had never been his thing, but with things with Kayla going the way they were, it was as if he was turning into his late father. Not something he had ever aspired to be.

Peter opened his eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to wake himself up so he could go figure out where the hell he was. The soft blue walls, the white bedding, the view out the window… none of it looked familiar.

The last thing he remembered was going out to a club with Frankie, to avoid going back to her house. To be fair, it had seemed like a good idea at the time. The last thing he remembered was ordering a drink and Frankie telling him that she needed something strong as well… he had been too drunk to remember she was a recovering alcoholic, something he felt awful about now.

He rolled out of bed, ignoring the way the room was spinning and the urge to throw up. His pants were lying on the floor and it took all of his energy just to walk over to them and put them on. His shirt was nowhere to be found but that was the least of his worries now. Peter slowly stretched his muscles, forcing himself to wake up despite his body's protests.

As he looked around, trying to find something that would help him identify where he was, he stopped dead in his tracks. His arms dropped to his sides and his mind went into overdrive. Since the moment he woke up he had known that this was life-changing bad, but things had just gotten a thousand times worse.

A picture. Frankie and her mother staring back at him from a gold-framed picture.

He could feel his insides sink and he could've sworn his heart stopped for a couple of seconds. Tears started to form in his eyes as he rubbed them, ''God no…'' He felt sick to his stomach as the realization of how incredibly bad he had messed up started to sink in.

Not only he had cheated on Kayla, he had cheated with the person he had sworn he'd never even talk to again. They weren't even married yet and he was already breaking promises. How was she ever supposed to trust him after this? If the roles has been reversed he wasn't sure he would ever be able to forgive her.

He sat down on the edge of the bed. He couldn't stand anymore, his legs felt like jelly. He caught his own reflection in the mirror and froze, his messy hair and dark circles… the unmade bed… He closed his eyes, not being able to deal with it all. He stood back up and started pacing around the room.

What was he supposed to do now? He didn't want to go downstairs because he was sure he would run into Frankie if he did. He wanted to go home, but he couldn't face Kayla. He wanted… to go back in time, to three weeks ago, the last blissful moment of his life.

The day he proposed to Kayla was a happy one but now it was being overshadowed by the fact that that was the day Frankie had came back into his life.

Frankie could hear Peter moving around in her bedroom as she went up the stairs. She leaned in the doorframe as she caught sight of what a mess he was. Still picture perfect gorgeous, but a mess nonetheless. ''Aren't you a sight,'' she joked as she sat down on the bed.  
Peter turned around, staring at her in disbelief, ''what the hell happened last night?'' He demanded answers.

This had to be a dream, there was no way he had slept with his ex-fiancée, right? He didn't have it in him to do that, he wasn't like his father, he wasn't. Up until he had woken up he had been entirely, one-hundred percent certain he wasn't…  
''Well,'' Frankie started, ''you have nothing to worry about, we didn't have sex,'' she assured him casually as she checked her perfectly manicured nails for chipping.

''We didn't?'' Peter asked, feeling very unsure. Considering the way Frankie had been acting ever since she came to Rittenhouse he wasn't sure he could trust her answers. Plus, everything around him indicated the exact opposite.  
''No,'' Frankie assured him as she chuckled, ''trust me, you were way too drunk to get it up. When we got home we messed around for a while and then went to sleep.''

Peter let out a sigh of relief, ''thank God…'' He knew he still had a lot of explaining to do, and he wasn't sure Kayla would forgive him for what did happen, but at least this wasn't as bad as expected.  
''There is one other thing though,'' Frankie said, trying to sound casual despite the fact that this had even freaked _her_ out.

''What is that?'' Peter asked.  
Frankie bit her lip as she held up her left hand, showing him the shiny ring on her ring-finger, ''looks like we made a stop on the way home.''

* * *

''But it was not your fault but mine,  
And it was your heart on the line  
I really messed it up this time,

Didn't I my dear?  
Didn't I my dear?'' Mumford And Sons, _Little Lion Man_

* * *

Please review!


End file.
